A batting allrounder who bowls right-arm medium pace and offspin, Rob Nicol made an instant name in one-day internationals when he scored a century on his debut game, against Zimbabwe, to become only the seventh batsman, and the second from New Zealand, to achieve this feat.

Nicol's only previous international exposure was in Twenty20 cricket, in which he represented New Zealand in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies. The right-hand batsman played eight seasons for Auckland before shifting to Canterbury in 2009-10. Nicol was a consistent performer for Auckland, his best returns coming in 2002-03 when he scored 664 State Championship runs. He was also impressive in his first stint with Canterbury, scoring 514 first-class runs. He was Canterbury's leading run-scorer in the Twenty20 HRV Cup with 237 runs at a strike-rate of 127.41 and that won him a promotion to the national squad.ESPNcricinfo Staff